0  , 
'icjw^’  lY'isr.fc 


World  Fellowship 

By  Margaret  E.  Burton 


World  Fellowship 

By  Margaret  E.  Burton 

National  Secretary  for  Oriental  Students  and  Small  Colleges 


National  Board 

OF  THE  Young  Women’s  Christian  Associations 
600  Lexington  Avenue,  New  York  City 

1916 


The  title  “World  Fellowship”  is  given  to  this  leaflet  with 
the  thought  that  such  a  phrasing  may  serve  to  revivify  and 
illuminate  the  purpose  of  the  committee  promoting  mission¬ 
ary  interests. 


World  Fellowship 

By  Margaret  E.  Burton 
What  Is  World  Fellowship? 

“It’s  great  to  have  the  world  for  your  hobby!”  Why  is 
it?  What  do  we  mean  when  we  say  “the  world?”  Do  we 
mean  “the  terraqueous  globe”  (according  to  Webster) ;  or 
a  map  Avith  a  very  bright  blotch  for  each  country;  or  na¬ 
tions  and  governments;  or  do  we  mean  just  folks? 

What  kind  of  folks  are  interesting?  Are  we  interested 
in  the  girl  in  our  college  who  is  so  eager  for  an  education 
that  she  is  willing  to  make  any  right  sacrifice  to  get  it, 
pluckily  working  her  way  through  college  with  dauntless  dis¬ 
regard  of  handicaps  and  obstacles? 

Are  we  interested  in  her  if  she  comes  to  us  from  a  land 
across  the  sea,  so  determined  to  get  the  very  best  educa¬ 
tion  possible  for  the  sake  of  the  needy  folk  of  her  faraway 
home,  that  she  is  willing  to  face  years  of  separation  from 
all  the  people  she  has  ever  known  before,  to  eat  strange 
food,  learn  strange  customs  and  speak  and  listen  to  a 
strange  language  for  years? 

Are  we  interested  in  girls  like  her  whom  we  have  never 
seen,  who  have  never  had  a  chance  to  go  outside  of  the  far¬ 
away  countries  in  which  they  were  born,  but  who  are  count¬ 
ing  no  cost  too  great  to  gain  an  education? 

Are  we  interested  in  the  people  whom  they  are  prepar¬ 
ing  themselves  to  serve,  many  of  them  very  ignorant,  many 
of  them  very  dirty? 

Are  we  interested  only  in  those  who  are  doing  much  the 

3 


same  things  that  we  are,  or  do  we  find  much  in  common  be¬ 
tween  us  and  people  who  are  living  a  very  different  kind  of 
life? 

Are  we  interested,  for  example,  in  the  girls  in  the  factories 
of  our  country?  Are  we  concerned  about  the  conditions 
under  which  they  work,  their  hours  of  work,  the  wages 
which  they  receive,  their  opportunities  for  recreation  and 
for  rest,  their  chances  for  development  and  for  more  abun¬ 
dant  life? 

Are  we  interested  in  the  most  helpless  of  them,  the  “li’l 
greenhorns”  who  stream  in  through  Ellis  Island  and  other 
ports  of  entry  every  year,  quaint  of  costume,  strange  of 
speech,  baffled  and  bewildered,  at  tbe  mercy  of  the  people 
of  the  great  country  whose  hardest  and  most  unpleasant 
tasks  they  have  come  to  perform? 

Are  the  half  million  girls  in  the  factories  of  Japan,  many 
of  them  working  more  than  twelve  hours  a  day,  under  con¬ 
ditions  where  physical  or  moral  health  are  well  nigh  im¬ 
possible,  beyond  the  bounds  of  our  interest? 

What  limitations  are  there  to  a  broadly  educated  woman’s 
interest  in  people?  Does  she  really  believe  that 

“Judy  O’Grady  and  the  Colonel’s  lady 
Are  both  alike  under  the  skin.” 

and  is  she  equally  interested  in  them  both? 

Is  her  thought  of  the  people  in 'foreign  countries  expressed 
by  the  ditty, 

“The  native  is  a  curious  chap. 

He  lives  in  countries  on  the  map; 

The  countries  that  are  painted  pink 
Are  where  the  native  lives,  I  think,” 

or  are  they  real  live  individuals  to  her,  who  feel  and  think, 

play  and  work,  love  and  laugh  and  struggle  and  suffer,  just 

like  the  people  she  touches  every  day?  If  peoples’  skins 

happen  to  be  of  a  different  color  from  hers  does  she  think  of 

them  as  “a  race,”  perhaps  “a  race  problem”?  Or  does  she 

break  up  that  colorless  term  into  vivid  living  human  units 

4 


and  see  mothers  and  fathers  loving  and  working  for  irre¬ 
sistible  small  people;  wide-awake  boys  and  girls  in  school 
or  busy  at  games  strikingly  like  those  she  used  to  play; 
others,  just  a  little  older,  losing  youth  and  strength  in 
crushing,  monotonous  toil;  and  still  others,  the  privileged 
few,  wracking  their  brains  in  high  school  or  college  over 
precisely  the  same  problems  which  puzzled  her,  and  with 
the  same  end  in  view? 

Can  a  college  woman  be  content  to  let  her  life  count  only 
for  those  whose  needs  she  can  see  with  her  eyes,  whose 
challenge  she  can  hear  with  her  ears?  Can  she  be  content 
to  be  a  citizen  of  her  own  town  or  city,  a  member  of  her 
own  nation  or  race,  or  must  she  claim  her  birthright  as  a 
member  of  a  great  world  family,  for  every  member  of 
whom  she  has  a  genuine  concern,  from  none  of  whom  she  is 
separated  by  any  man-made  barriers  of  race  or  class,  speech 
or  custom,  because  “one  is  our  Father,  even  God,  and  all  we 
are  brethren”? 

And  what  does  “interest”  mean  to  her?  Does  it  mean  a 
blandly  benevolent  attitude,  or  is  it  a  positive,  active  caring 
“that  the  blind  may  receive  their  sight  and  the  lame  walk, 
the  lepers  be  cleansed  and  the  deaf  hear,  and  the  poor  have 
good  tidings  preached  to  them”? 

If  she  has  that  kind  of  interest,  no  effort  to  bring  more 
abundant  life  of  any  kind,  to  any  people,  will  be  a  matter 
of  indifference  to  her.  She  will  give  her  sympathy  and 
support  to  efforts  to  make  people’s  bodies  stronger,  finer, 
more  full  of  “the  joy  of  mere  living.”  Playgrounds,  vacation 
hemes,  fresh  air  camps,  crusades  against  tuberculosis  and 
other  like  enemies  of  health,  educational  campaigns  which 
make  for  observance  of  the  laws  of  hygiene  and  sanitation  and 
scores  of  similar  movements  which  come  under  her  almost 
daily  attention  will  never  lose  their  significance  for  her. 
Hospitals  set  in  the  center  of  such  need  as  she  has 

5 


never 


seen,  even  though  she  may  be  familiar  with  the  poorest  dis¬ 
tricts  of  great  American  cities;  dispensaries  to  which  wom¬ 
en  hobble  on  bound  feet  to  see  the  only  physician  in  the 
midst  of  a  community  of  a  million  people;  leper  asylums 
where  suffering  people  learn  to  find  joy  even  under  the  bur¬ 
den  of  awful  and  incurable  disease — all  these  things  and 
others  like  them  will  not  seem  too  far-away  for  her  to  know 
or  care  about. 

Nor  will  she  be  too  busy  in  the  midst  of  her  own  unusual 
opportunities  for  education,  to  think  about  the  minds  of 
other  people,  and  the  chances  they  are  having  to  develop. 
Every  effort  of  social  settlements,  night  schools,  the  educa¬ 
tional  departments  of  Christian  Associations  in  this  and 
other  countries  will  be  a  source  of  gratitude  to  her.  The 
eager,  almost  overwhelming  awakening  of  the  Orient  to  a 
desire  for  education  for  its  girls  will  thrill  her  with  joy 
and  fear — joy  that  it  has  come,  fear  lest  college  women  of 
lands  where  the  education  of  women  is  well  established, 
whose  help  and  guidance  in  these  days  of  crisis  and  plas¬ 
ticity  is  imperative,  should  awaken  to  challenging  and  un¬ 
precedented  opportunities  too  late.  She  will  keep  in  touch 
with  the  progress  of  woman’s  education  in  those  countries 
where  until  recently  not  more  than  one  woman  in  a  thou¬ 
sand  could  sign  her  name  except  by  “her  mark.”  She  will 
know  of  the  establishment  of  women’s  colleges  in  Madras 
and  Nanking,  and  of  the  urgent  need  of  others  like  them 
in  several  other  great  educational  centers  of  the  East.  She 
will  want  to  have  some  kind  of  share  in  helping  to  bring 
more  abundant  intellectual  life  to  people  the  world  around. 

She  will  want  all  the  good  things  which  life  has  brought 
to  her  to  be  shared  with  all  who  lack  them.  And  if  she 
believes  that  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  has  been  from  the 
beginning,  and  is  increasingly,  the  greatest  force  for  right¬ 
eousness  and  abundance  in  the  lives  of  men  and  nations,  she 
will  care  supremely  that  this  one  best  gift  should  be  shared 

6 


with  every  member  of  the  world  family  in  every  corner  of 
the  globe.  It  goes  without  saying  that  she  will  have  no 
scorn  for  any  effort  man  has  made,  to  find  and  have  fellow¬ 
ship  with  God.  The  elements  of  truth  and  beauty  in  other 
religions  will  command  her  genuine  respect.  But  she  will 
never  be  satisfied  to  rest  in  selfish  enjoyment  of  radiant  per¬ 
fectness  while  others  know  only  a  shadowy  imperfectness. 
Because  Christianity  combines  in  itself  Hinduism’s  com¬ 
munion  with  God,  with  none  of  Hinduism’s  degradation; 
Buddhism’s  self-sacrifice,  with  none  of  Buddhism’s  stagnation ; 
Mohammedanism’s  insistence  on  one  God  to  obey  whose  will 
is  the  highest  good  of  man,  with  none  of  Mohammedanism’s 
cruelty;  and  Confucianism’s  lofty  moral  teachings  with 
none  of  Confucianism’s  agnosticism — because  of  this  she 
knows  that  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  has  come  “not  to  de¬ 
stroy,  but  to  fulfill.”  To  all  that  is  good  and  strong  and 
beautiful  in  other  religions,  Christianity  adds  a  shining  rev¬ 
elation  of  what  God  the  Father  is,  and  of  what  He  wills  that 
man,  the  son,  shall  be,  in  a  Radiant  Person,  in  whom  men 
of  all  ages,  all  races,  all  classes,  all  types  have  found  a  com¬ 
mon  Friend.  And  because  the  satisfaction  of  the  needs  and 
aspirations  of  all  the  world  is  found  in  Jesus  Christ,  she  in¬ 
sists  on  the  right  of  all  the  world  to  know  Him.  Moreover, 
she  judges  “by  their  fruits”  whether  the  non-Christian  re¬ 
ligions  are  “good  enough”  for  the  people  who  know  only 
them.  By  this  test  she  decides  whether  a  religion  whose 
teachings  result  in  a  social  system  in  which  man  regards 
his  fellow  as  an  “untouchable”  whose  very  shadow  is  a  pol¬ 
lution,  which  has  debased  childhood,  degraded  women,  ard 
exalted  vice,  falls  so  far  short  that  she  must  share  the 
radiant  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  with  its  joyous  teaching  of 
the  Fatherhood  of  God,  and  the  brotherhood  of  all  men. 
She  must  judge  whether  a  religion  which  gives  high  and  pure 
ideals,  but  which,  on  the  other  hand,  has  pointed  to  no  power 
making  it  possible  for  men  to  reach  them,  is  sufficient  for 
one  fourth  of  the  human  race,  or  whether  she  is  bound  to 

7 


give  the  one  best  gift,  knowledge  of  One  who  held  up  the 
loftiest,  purest,  most  comprehensive  ideal  the  world  has 
ever  known,  and  who  said,  “I  am  the  Way”— “by  whom 
alone,”  says  Count  Okuma  of  Japan,  “the  necessary  dynamic 
is  to  be  found.”  “For  if  my  religion  is  false,”  says  Mr.  John 
R.  Mott,  “I  am  bound  to  change  it;  if  it  is  true  I  am  bound 
to  propagate  it.” 


A  Working  Program 

If  we  believe  that  such  a  genuine  active  interest  in  peo¬ 
ple  of  all  the  world  should  be  a  part  of  every  college  wom¬ 
an’s  equipment  for  life,  how  can  we  help  our  fellow  students 
to  get  it?  Probably  nine  out  of  ten  of  those  who  do  not 
yet  have  this  spirit  of  world  fellowship,  are  uninterested 
simply  because  they  know  so  little  about  the  people  of  ^e 
rest  of  the  world  that  any  real  interest  is  impossible.  No 
one  is  ever  interested  in  a  subject  about  which  he  has  no 
knowledge,  and  strange  as  it  may  seem,  in  this  age  when 
the  world  is  one  world  as  never  before  in  history,  even 
some  of  us  who  have  had  the  opportunities  for  breadth  of 
vision  which  college  life  brings,  are  still  pretty  provincial 
when  it  comes  to  knowing  about  “the  other  half”  of  our  city 
and  of  our  globe.  It  is  of  primary  importance,  therefore, 
to  do  everything  in  our  power  to  bring  a  knowledge  of  the  rest 
of  the  world  into  the  college  community.  And  this  is  the  al¬ 
luring  task  of  the  standing  committee  of  every  student  Young 
Women’s  Christian  Association  whose  responsibility  it  is  to 
awaken  a  genuine  spirit  of  world  fellowship  in  every  girl  on 
the  campus. 


Study  Classes 

Classes  for  the  study  of  other  people  are  the  best  possible 
means  of  creating  interest  in  them.  It  is  practically  impos¬ 
sible  to  study  about  real  people,  week  after  week,  without 

8 


learning  to  feel  a  genuine  interest  in  them.  The  books  issued 
by  the  Voluntary  Study  Committee*  for  use  in  non-curricu¬ 
lum  courses  during  the  second  semester  are  written  with 
the  express  purpose  of  introducing  college  students  to  peo¬ 
ple  worth  knowing  the  world  around,  and  helping  them 
to  understand  the  life,  needs,  and  problems  of  these  people, 
and  the  opportunities  for  helping.  The  book  for  the  first 
year  tells  the  life  stories  of  twelve  men  and  women  who 
were  friends  and  servants  of  folk  all  over  the  world;  that 
for  the  second  year  brings  the  challenge  to  world  service; 
that  for  the  Juniors  is  to  be  a  study  of  the  world  religions,  and 
the  Seniors’  book  will  be  a  study  of  great  social  problems  the 
world  around.  These  books  are  issued  by  a  committee  con¬ 
sisting  of  representatives  of  the  various  denominations  of  the 
Young  Men’s  and  Young  Women’s  Christian  Associations  of 
the  United  States  and  Canada,  and  of  the  Student  Volunteer 
Movement,  and  are  planned  for  use  in  voluntary  student 
classes  in  Sunday  schools  and  colleges.  The  Student  Volun¬ 
teer  Movement  also  publishes  each  year  two  or  three  other 
books  for  parallel  voluntary  student  courses,  such  as  “The 
Present  World  Situation,”  by  John  R.  Mott,  “The  Students 
of  Asia,”  by  Sherwood  Eddy,  etc.,  which  are  admirably 
adapted  for  the  awakening  of  the  spirit  of  world  fellow¬ 
ship  and  service.  Still  other  books  are  published  by  the 
Missionary  Education  Movement,  the  Central  Committee  on 
the  United  Study  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  the  Women’s 
Council  for  Home  Missions,  many  of  which,  while  not  writ¬ 
ten  primarily  for  students,  as  are  those  of  the  Voluntary 
Study  Committee  and  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement, 
may  prove  to  be  excellent  for  parallel  courses. 

In  order  that  the  program  of  study  may  be  well  balanced 
and  co-ordinated,  the  chairman  of  the  committee  promoting 
world  fellowship  should  meet  with  the  chairmen  of  the  Bible 


*See  leaflet  on  “The  Bible  Study  Committee  and  the  Voluntary 
^  Study  Plan,”  listed  on  back  cover. 

9 


Study  and  Social  Service  Committees,  who  form  the  executive 
council  for  the  Voluntary  Study  plan.  Together  the  various 
courses  can  be  selected  and  consultation  with  church  and 
Sunday  school  leaders  be  arranged.  The  chief  responsibility 
for  the  further  planning  and  promotion  of  the  World  Fel¬ 
lowship  Study  Classes  rests  with  your  committee.  In  most 
cases  where  the  Sunday  schools  are  offering  student  classes 
it  will  probably  be  well  to  give  parallel  courses  on  the 
campus,  rather  than  to  repeat  the  same  subject;  although 
it  is  conceivable  that  it  may  sometimes  be  well  to  duplicate 
the  Sunday  school  course  for  the  sake  of  students  who,  be¬ 
cause  they  themselves  are  teaching  in  the  Sunday  school,  or 
for  some  other  reason,  find  it  impossible  to  attend  the  Sun¬ 
day  school  class,  but  wish  to  study  the  course  offered  there. 

The  courses  and  leaders  should  be  chosen  in  time  to  give 
the  leaders  ample  opportunity  for  preparation,  for  whatever 
other  qualifications  the  leader  of  such  a  class  may  have,  if  she 
is  not  herself  thoroughly  well  acquainted  with  the  people  and 
problems  of  which  she  is  teaching,  she  will  not  succeed  in 
inspiring  the  class  to  a  deep  interest  in  them.  If  most  of 
the  mission  study  classes  are  given  in  the  second  semester, 
it  may  be  well  to  have  a  normal  class  for  their  leaders  in 
the  first  semester. 

When  the  courses  and  leaders  have  been  chosen  the  next 
thing  is,  of  course,  to  create  a  thirst  for  such  knowledge  as 
they  offer  in  the  minds  of  all  the  students.  Whatever  be 
the  methods  you  use  to  secure  enrollment  for  these  classes, 
let  them  not  be  apologetic!  You  are  offering  your  fellow 
students  a  splendid  opportunity  to  do  a  bit  of  fascinating 
study  which  will  forever  afterward  enrich  their  lives.  You 
are  asking  them  to  invest  a  minimum  of  time  in  a  way  which 
will  yield  an  amazingly  rich  return.  Make  them  sure  that 
you  feel  that  it  is  a  real  privilege  to  present  this  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  them. 


10 


One  of  the  best  ways  of  bringing  the  classes  to  the  at¬ 
tention  of  the  students  is  by  a  meeting,  perhaps  one  of  the 
regular  weekly  Association  meetings,  at  which  some  con¬ 
vincing  and  attractive  speaker  presents  the  worth-whileness 
of  World  Fellowship  study  in  general,  and  of  the  special 
courses  about  to  be  given,  in  particular.  At  the  close  of 
the  meeting  a  chance  for  enrollment  should  be  given.  In 
many  cases  it  will  be  wise  to  follow  this  meeting  by  a  general 
canvass  of  some  sort.  If  so,  it  should  be  most  thoroughly 
and  systematically  carried  out,  in  accordance  with,  the  plan 
determ^ined  upon  by  the  Voluntary  Study  Executive  Council, 
that  there  may  be  no  duplication  of  effort,  and  no  danger  of 
anyone’s  feeling  that  she  is  being  “nagged.”  Those  who  are 
to  make  the  canvass  should  be  carefully  prepared  for  their 
work,  that  they  may  not  make  a  subject  which  is  thrilling  and 
glowing  with  life  and  interest  seem  stale  and  profitless  by  a 
flat  presentation  of  it;  that  they  may  know  how  to  answer  any 
questions  which  may  be  asked  them;  and  may  be  so  intelli¬ 
gent  about  all  the  courses  being  offered,  that  they  can  give 
advice  as  to  the  selection  of  a  subject,  etc. 

The  wise  use  of  publicity  in  the  presentation  of  these  study 
classes  should  not  be  forgotten.  The  right  kind  of  posters 
can  do  much  to  attract  the  attention  and  interest  of  her  who 
runs,  but  reads.  Pictures  suggestive  of  fascinating  sub¬ 
jects  to  be  studied,  an  attractively  framed  space  for  enroll¬ 
ment,  where  the  passing  throng  may  read  the  names  of  “all 
the  best  families”  who  are  joining  the  classes,  and  numerous 
other  types  of  posters,  may  gain  the  attention  of  many  a 
casual  passerby.  Articles  and  notices  in  the  college  paper 
will  also  help. 

After  the  classes  have  been  planned  for  and  started  there 
is  sometimes  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  members  of  the 
committee  to  feel  that  they  may  now  rest  from  their  labors, 
and  let  the  classes  “gang  their  own  gait.”  But  if  all  their 
efforts  are  to  be  conserved,  and  they  are  to  see  fruits  which 

11 


will  make  them  feel  repaid  for  their  labors,  they  must  not 
yield  to  this  temptation,  but  must  see  that  each  class  has  a 
secretary  who  keeps  the  class  records,  looks  up  absentees  and 
is  in  every  way  the  leader’s  “right  hand  man.” 

In  many  places  there  are  curriculum  courses,  too,  which 
help  to  give  a  knowledge  of  other  people  and  their  problems. 
In  a  few  colleges  there  are  actual  mission  study  classes  which 
are  a  part  of  the  regular  curriculum.  But  even  in  those 
where  there  are  no  such  courses  as  this,  there  are  others  in 
ethnology,  sociology.  Oriental  problems,  and  kindred  topics 
which  will  do  much  to  stimulate  interest  in  people  the  world 
around.  It  may  perhaps  be  well  for  the  committee  promoting 
world  fellowship  to  consider  whether  it  might  be  wise  for  it  to 
urge  the  enrollment  of  students  in  these  curriculum  courses 
as  well  as  in  the  voluntary  classes. 

Meetings  on  World  Fellowship 

No  less  important  than  the  classes  for  the  study  of  the 
world  family  are  the  meetings  which  keep  us  in  touch  with  the 
throbbing,  intensely  significant  life  just  outside  the  campus 
walls.  Certainly  no  meetings  could  have  more  interesting 
and  “live”  subjects  than  these,  and  yet  so  often  the  one 
meeting  of  the  month  which  is  given  to  the  subject  of  other 
people  has  been  planned  so  perfunctorily,  and  with  so  little 
originality,  that  it  has  become  rather  traditional  to  cut  on 
“missionary  meeting  day.”  It  is  the  high  privilege  of  the 
wide-awake  committee  on  world  fellowship  to  plan  such  a 
thrilling  series  of  meetings-  about  people  the  world  around, 
that  there  will  always  be  “standing  room  only”  on  the  days 
of  their  meetings.  The  subjects  that  would  be  most  interest¬ 
ing  in  one  place,  would  not  be  those  best  adapted  to  another, 
but  the  possibilities  are  almost  exhaustless.  Think,  for  ex¬ 
ample,  of  the  possibilities  in  meetings  on  the  women  students 
of  the  world,  or  women  in  industry  the  world  over,  or  the  edu¬ 
cational  renaissance  among  women  throughout  the  East,  or 

12 


their  social  awakening,  or  the  spiritual  hunger  and  respon¬ 
siveness  manifested  among  Oriental  women  today,  or  bio¬ 
graphical  sketches  of  women  of  different  lands  who  are  do¬ 
ing  big  things  for  their  own  people — and  countless  other 
subjects  dealing  simply  with  other  women.  Think  of  what 
might  be  made  of  a  series  of  meetings  on  social  problems 
and  social  progress  around  the  world;  of  another  on  the 
world  needs  which  call  for  college  women,  and  the  varying 
opportunities  open  to  them.  There  is  almost  an  embarrass¬ 
ment  of  riches.  In  several  colleges  the  Christian  Associa¬ 
tion  has  co-operated  with  other  college  organizations,  and 
often  with  the  faculty,  in  planning  and  carrying  through  a 
series  of  lectures  on  world  subjects,  in  addition  to  their  own 
meetings.  When  such  a  course  is  carefully  planned,  and 
the  right  lecturers  can  be  secured,  it  is  a  great  impetus  to 
the  spirit  of  world  interest  and  fellowship. 

As  with  classes,  so  with  meetings,  the  right  use  of  pub¬ 
licity  is  of  great  importance.  A  meeting  can  be  made  or 
killed  by  its  title.  The  nonchalant  printed  poster  announc¬ 
ing  that  “Miss - will  speak  on  ‘Missions,’  ”  brings  a  mere 

handful  to  hear  a  speaker  of  unusual  power  give  a  deeply 
interesting  address;  but  a  dozen  little  announcements  made 
gay  with  black  Chinese  characters  on  red  paper,  announcing 
that  “Changing  China”  will  be  told  about  by  an  Association 
secretary  who  has  been  there,  crowds  the  same  room. 

Books  on  World  Fellowship 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  any  books  in  any  library  more 
vivid,  more  stirring,  more  difficult  to  lay  down  when  once 
opened,  than  many  of  the  recent  books  about  the  other  mem¬ 
bers  of  our  world  family.  The  remark  once  made  about  Stev¬ 
enson’s  writing,  that  if  you  cut  any  sentences  of  it  it  would 
bleed,  could  be  accurately  applied  to  scores  of  these  up-to- 
date  books,  so  pulsing  are  they  with  vigorous  life.  They  are 
among  the  best  means  of  getting  acquainted  with,  and  there- 

13 


fore  getting  interested  in,  other  folk,  and  every  Association 
library  should  have  many  of  them,  not  on  its  shelves,  but  in 
the  hands  of  its  members.  There  should  be  books  about  other 
countries  and  other  parts  of  our  own  country,  books  that  deal 
with  political  situations,  with  social  situations,  with  education¬ 
al  conditions,  above  all,  books  about  people.  It  is  not  always 
easy  to  persuade  a  busy  college  girl  that  she  has  time  to  read 
any  book  that  is  not  on  a  required  list.  But  this  only  means 
that  your  committee  will  have  an  excellent  opportunity 
to  exercise  all  its  ingenuity  in  creating  an  appetite  for 
these  books,  and  devising  practical  plans  for  getting  them 
read.  Of  course,  summer  vacations  are  a  time  when  much 
real  reading  can  be  done,  and  not  one  of  these  books  should 
be  left  to  collect  dust  on  a  book  shelf  through  the  summer 
months.  But  neither  must  they  be  given  a  long  winter’s 
rest.  Many  of  them  are  well  adapted  for  reading  aloud  in 
sewing  groups.  Possibly  it  may  be  wise  after  the  enrollment 
for  the  classes  is  over,  to  enlist  in  some  sort  of  reading  course, 
those  who  found  it  impossible  to  belong  to  a  class.  The 
members  of  such  a  course  might  pledge  themselves  to  read  one 
or  more  books  during  the  semester,  and  make  a  brief  report 
on  each,  perhaps  in  an  Association  meeting,  in  the  college 
paper,  or  on  the  bulletin  board.  Here  again  much  may  be 
done  by  good  publicity.  A  short,  catchy  report  of  a  book, 
illustrated,  perhaps  with  some  good  quotations  posted  on  the 
bulletin  board,  may  gain  a  goodly  number  of  readers. 

A  World  Fellowship  Bulletin  Board 

This  brings  us  to  the  possibilities  in  a  bulletin  board  for 
which  the  committee  promoting  world  fellowship  is  respon¬ 
sible.  If  it  is  well  located  and  the  exhibits  are  changed  fre¬ 
quently  enough  so  that  the  passerby  always  looks  to  see  if 
something  new  is  up,  and  if  these  exhibits  are  carefully 
planned,  such  a  board  may  be  a  liberal  education  in  it¬ 
self.  This  is  the  place  to  post  newspaper  clippings  which 

14 


will  keep  people  up  to  date  with  the  things  that  concern 
other  members  of  the  world  family.  Here  one  may  call  at¬ 
tention  to  such  articles  as  Jean  MacKenzie’s  “Black  Sheep” 
in  The  Atlantic  Monthly  which  no  one  who  wants  a  treat 
should  miss  reading.  Here  letters  from  alumnae  working  in 
other  parts  of  the  world  may  be  posted.  Here  the  eye  of 
him  who  runs  may  be  caught  with  pictures  and  post  cards. 
An  ingenious  sub-committee  can  make  the  exhibits  so  varied 
and  so  attractive  that  the  World  Fellowship  Bulletin  Board 
will  always  be  a  center  of  interest. 

Some  of  Our  Fellowships 

Bulletin  board,  library,  meetings  and  classes  will  all  con¬ 
tribute  to  an  increasing  realization  of  how  world-wide  our 
affiliations  become  when  we  join  the  Young  Women’s  Chris¬ 
tian  Association  of  our  college.  By  virtue  of  being  mem¬ 
bers  there,  we  are  also  members  of  the  great  National  Young 
Women’s  Christian  Association,  to  which  approximately 
375,000  girls  belong;  city  girls  and  country  girls,  high  school 
girls  and  college  girls,  immigrant  girls  and  Oriental  girls, 
colored  girls  and  Indian  girls.  But  that  is  not  all;  for  in 
joining  the  Association  in  our  college  we  become  members 
of  the  World’s  Young  Women’s  Christian  Association,  785,000 
of  us  in  thirty  different  nations.  And  there  is  still  another 
great  World’s  organization  which  includes  each  of  us  who  is 
a  member  of  a  college  Association  in  this  country;  the  World’s 
Student  Christian  Federation,  which  unites  Christian  students 
the  world  over  in  loyalty  to  the  Master  Teacher.  Our  connec¬ 
tion  with  all  three  of  these  is  made  through  the  National 
Board  of  Young  Women’s  Christian  Associations,  with  head¬ 
quarters  at  600  Lexington  Avenue,  New  York.* 

The  Student  Volunteer  Movement  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada  is  another  great  organization  with  which  your  com- 


hip,-"LTed  ?rbic\^cover®  Association  Member- 


15 


mittee  must  always  keep  in  constant  and  the  closest  possible 
touch,  and  with  which  it  will  work  in  fullest  co-operation. 
Doubtless  there  is  a  Student  Volunteer  Band  in  your  college, 
and  at  least  one  of  the  girls  who  belong  to  it  ought  always  to 
be  a  member  of  this  committee.  Its  purpose  to  help  to 
find  strong,  splendidly  equipped  college  men  and  women, 
worthy  and  able  to  invest  the  gift  of  life  in  the  places  of  most 
desperate  need  and  most  challenging  opportunity,  is  a  part  of 
the  purpose  of  your  committee  as  well,  and  one  which  all  that 
your  committee  does  will  help  to  further.  The  help  which  the 
Educational  Department  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement 
will  give  you  in  planning  for  classes  and  meetings  has  already 
been  referred  to.  Many  of  the  most  fascinating  books  for 
your  library,  and  much  of  the  most  interesting  material  for 
your  bulletin  board,  will  come  from  the  offices  of  the  Student 
Volunteer  Movement,  at  25  Madison  Avenue,  New  York 
City. 

Then  there  are  the  Women’s  Missionary  Boards,  which  can 
be  of  great  help  in  all  you  do  to  awaken  a  spirit  of  world  fel¬ 
lowship,  and  are  eager  to  serve  you  in  any  way  possible.  It 
is  a  good  plan  to  have  a  sub-committee,  which  shall  keep  in 
touch  with  the  women’s  missionary  boards  of  the  various 
denominations,  the  committee  being  made  up  of  one  Senior 
from  each  of  the  leading  denominations  represented  among 
the  women  of  your  college.  Each  member  will  be  familiar 
with  the  work  of  the  Women’s  Foreign  Mission  Board  which 
she  represents,  and  will  keep  in  touch  with  its  work  by  cor¬ 
respondence  with  its  secretary  for  student  work.  She  will 
often  be  able  to  suggest  missionaries  or  secretaries  of  her 
board  who  might  be  speakers  at  Association  meetings,  and 
will  also  be  able  to  secure  much  valuable  literature  from  the 
Board  for  use  in  class  work,  on  the  bulletin  board,  or  in  the 
library.  It  will  also  be  a  part  of  her  work  to  keep  a  list  of 
all  women  students  who  have  gone,  or  plan  to  go,  from  the 
Association,  into  work  in  foreign  countries;  and  to  send  to 

16 


the  student  secretary  of  her  board  the  names  and  addresses 
of  all  the  girls  of  her  denomination  who  are  graduating,  that 
they  may  be  brought  into  touch  with  the  missionary  work 
of  the  place  to  which  they  go.  This  sub-committee  should  also 
include  one  member  who  will  correspond  with  and  represent 
the  interests  of  the  United  Home  Mission  Councils  in  similar 
fashion.* 

A  Concrete  Way  to  Promote  World  Fellowship 

One  of  the  joys  of  giving  concrete  help  is  that  it  not  only 
benefits  the  recipient,  but  is  both  a  creator  and  an  ex¬ 
pression  of  vital  interest  in  the  giver.  Every  student  Asso¬ 
ciation  ought  to  have  some  real  part  in  the  splendid  work 
which  is  bringing  more  abundant  life  to  the  women  of  the 
world.  Denominational  colleges  will,  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
probably  make  most  of  their  gifts  to  the  work  being  done  by 
the  Women’s  Missionary  Boards  of  their  denominations;  and 
colleges  having  no  relation  to  any  particular  denomination 
will  usually  give  their  support  to  some  interdenominational 
work,  such  as  the  foreign  work  of  the  Young  Women’s  Chris¬ 
tian  Association.  Some  of  the  large  colleges  have  their  own 
representatives  as  Association  secretaries  in  the  Orient.  For 
example,  Wellesley  has  sent  two  of  its  alumnae  to  Peking,  as 
secretaries  of  the  Association  there.  The  University  of 
Chicago  is  represented  in  India  by  one  of  its  former  general 
secretaries,  now  student  secretary  in  Madras.  Some  other 
Associations  which  cannot  assume  the  entire  responsibility 
for  a  secretary,  share  a  secretaryship  with  one  or  more  other 
colleges.  Few  things  do  so  much  to  stimulate  the  interest  of 
a  college  community  in  far-away  people  as  to  have  their  own 
representative  out  there,  serving  those  people  and  making 
them  real  to  the  girls  who  are  making  her  work  for  them 
possible.  The  letters  she  sends  back,  the  notices  in  the  col- 


*See  leaflet  on  “Association  Membership  and  Church  Work,”  listed 
on  back  cover. 


17 


lege  paper  about  what  she  is  doing,  the  meetings  at  which  the 
students  are  kept  informed  of  her  work  and  its  significance, 
all  bring  a  real  sense  of  fellowship  with  the  girls  of  other 
countries,  and  an  appreciation  of  the  privilege  it  is  to  have  a 
part  in  bringing  truly  abundant  life  to  them.  Different  As¬ 
sociations  use  different  methods  for  raising  their  missionary 
gifts.  Some  have  the  “Day  Plan”,  others  the  “Share  Plan”; 
some  have  special  campaigns  at  a  given  time  each  year.*  But 
always  these  missionary  gifts  are  personal,  not  raised  by 
sales  or  fetes  or  other  like  activities,  not  taken  from  the  dues, 
but  given  by  students  and  faculty  who  really  care  that  other 
girls  may  have  what  Jesus  Christ  came  to  bring,  and  are  will¬ 
ing  to  sacrifice  to  make  that  possible. 

Fellowship  Plus  Comradeship 

Not  all  colleges  have  the  privilege  of  having  a  first  hand 
touch  with  the  women  of  other  lands,  but  in  these  days,  when 
in  increasing  numbers.  Oriental  women  are  coming  to  this 
country  for  education,  there  are  many  Associations  which 
have  the  very  great  opportunity  of  close  touch  upon  the  lives 
of  women  who  are  going  to  be  leaders  of  almost  unlimited  in¬ 
fluence  among  the  people  of  their  nations.  Only  a  few 
women  in  these  nations  have  any  education  at  all;  as  yet 
only  a  small  proportion  of  that  privileged  few  have  had  any¬ 
thing  but  elementary  training.  The  college  woman  is  as  yet 
almost  unknown.  The  influence  of  the  woman  who  has  re¬ 
ceived  her  college  education  in  the  midst  of  a  civilization  and 
culture  other  than  her  own,  who  has  had  opportunities  of 
travel,  is  almost  impossible  of  exaggeration.  For  good  or 
for  ill  she  will  be  the  leader  of  a  mighty  host  of  her  country¬ 
women.  How  supremely  important  it  is,  then,  that  while  she 
is  with  us,  she  should  know  not  the  worst,  but  the  best  of  our 
life,  and  know  it  from  the  inside,  not  simply  on  the  surface. 
If  we  are  true  patriots  we  shall  want  this  to  be  possible.  If 

♦Pamphlets  describing  these  plans  can  be  obtained  from  the 
Foreign  Department,  600  Lexington  Avenue,  New  York  City. 

18 


we  are  loyal  citizens  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  believe  that 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  very  best  gift  we  have  to 
oifer,  we  shall  be  deeply  concerned  that  the  Oriental  students, 
if  they  are  Christians,  go  back  stronger  and  more  loyal  be¬ 
cause  of  their  stay  with  us.  And  if  they  are  not  yet  Chris¬ 
tians,  we  shall  care  supremely  that  they  may  be  won  by  the 
influences  which  surround  them  here  to  become  true  followers 
and  friends  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  There  are  probably 
no  more  powerful  influences  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the 
Orient  to-day  than  the  lives  of  men  and  women  who  have  re¬ 
turned  from  their  years  of  study  in  a  Christian  country  not 
less,  but  more,  earnest  Christians.  But  on  the  other  hand  there 
is  probably  no  one  force  doing  more  to  check  the  progress 
of  the  Good  News  in  non-Christian  countries  than  the  lives 
of  those  others,  who  have  gone  back  after  four  or  more  years 
of  college  life  in  a  Christian  country  to  throw  the  weight 
of  their  influence  against  Christianity.  One  of  the  wisest  and 
sanest  leaders  in  China  recently  said,  “One  American-edu¬ 
cated  Chinese  who  returns  an  earnest  Christian  is  worth 
more  than  an  entire  mission  station”.  He  might  perhaps 
have  said  with  equal  truth  that  one  American-educated 
Chinese  who  returned  to  use  his  influences  against  Christian¬ 
ity  would  do  more  harm  than  an  entire  mission  station  could 
undo. 

What  can  we  do  to  make  their  stay  among  us  count  for 
the  very  most  and  the  very  highest  to  these  Oriental  guests 
of  ours?  It  is  almost  all  summed  up  in  the  statement  that  we 
can  be  true  friends  to  them.  True  friends  will,  of  course, 
neither  patronize,  nor  pet,  nor  give  the  kind  of  attention 
which  makes  it  hard  for  even  the  most  sensible  girl  to  keep 
from  having  her  head  turned.  In  true  friendship  there  is 
no  emphasis  on  or  thought  of  superficial  differences,  but  fel¬ 
lowship  that  rests  upon  deep  fundamental  likenesses.  There 
is  constant  sharing  of  the  best  in  such  friendship,  and  con¬ 
stant  thoughtfulness.  A  form  of  thoughtfulness  which  Ori¬ 
ental  girls  especially  appreciate  is  hospitality.  Few  things 

19 


in  our  country  are  so  good  as  our  Christian  family  life,  and 
there  are  few  things  which  girls  from  other  lands  so  appre¬ 
ciate  knowing.  Those  of  us  who  have  homes  can  invite  to 
them  these  friends  from  far  away,  especially  at  the  holiday 
times  which  would  otherwise  be  very  lonely,  and  we  can  put 
them  in  touch  with  other  homes  which  we  would  like  to  have 
them  know,  and  which  we  would  like  to  have  know  them. 
We  can  see  that  they  meet  the  people  who  are  the  best  in¬ 
terpreters  of  our  religion  and  our  social  order ;  that  they  have 
opportunity  to  see  and  know  our  best  institutions;  that  they 
hear  the  sermons  and  the  lectures  which  will  be  an  inspir¬ 
ation  to  them.  We  can  see  to  it  that  they  are  always  in¬ 
cluded  in  our  summer  conference  delegations,  their  ex¬ 
penses  counted  in  as  a  part  of  the  summer  conference  budget. 
If  we  are  “by  constant  watching  wise”  we  shall  discover 
scores  of  ways  in  which  we  can  so  express  the  real  spirit  of 
Christ  and  Christian  friendship  that  no  Oriental  girl  who 
comes  to  our  colleges  can  ever  return  to  say  that  her  life  in 
a  Christian  college  and  Christian  country  had  taught  her 
nothing  of  the  beauty  and  the  power  of  our  religion.  And 
if  we  send  her  back  eager  and  determined  that  the  great 
company  of  her  country-women  who  look  to  her  for  leader¬ 
ship  shall  be  led  Christward,  our  lives  will  have  touched  the 
ends  of  the  earth  in  a  way  that  angels  might  covet. 

“It’s  great  to  have  the  world  for  your  hobby!”  And  it’s 
great  to  be  a  part  of  that  glad  company  of  every  nation  and 
of  every  class  whose  marching  hymn  is 

“The  world  for  Christ  we  sing, 

The  world  to  Christ  we  bring 
With  joyful  song'’ 


20 


PUBLICATIONS  FOR  LEADERS  OF  EIGHT  WEEK 

CLUBS 

1.  How  to  Promote  Eight  Week  Clubs  in  the  Colleges,  by 
Mabel  Stone.  6  cents. 

2.  College  Women  and  Country  Leadership,  the  study  book, 
by  Jessie  Field,  national  secretary  for  country  work.  25 
cents. 

3.  For  Leaders  of  Eight  Week  Clubs  (among  American 
girls)  by  Jessie  Field.  10  cents. 

4.  An  International  Friendship  Club  (among  foreign  girls) 
by  Edith  Terry  Bremer,  national  secretary  for  immi¬ 
gration  and  foreign  community  work.  15  cents. 

Eight  Week  Club  Packet  containing  1,  2  and  3  or  4  (cross 
out  one  not  wanted).  40  cents. 

Texts: 

Out  of  Doors  in  the  Bible,  by  Ethel  Cutler.  A  pilgrimage 
with  outdoor  people  of  both  Testaments.  Written  esi)e- 
cially  for  summer  use.  15  cents. 

Jesus  Among  His  Friends,  by  Ethel  Cutler.  Six  stories  from 
the  life  of  Christ.  15  cents. 

Christian  Citizenship  for  Girls,  by  Helen  Thobum.  Ten 
chapters  on  a  girl's  relation  to  home,  work,  worship, 
recreation,  friends,  etc.  25  cents. 

Note:  The  five  cent  leaflet,  “Two  Kinds  of  College  Girls,” 

containing  “little  stories”  by  Oolooah  Burner  and  Abbie 

Graham,  is  of  special  interest  to  Eight  Week  Club  leaders. 

Order  from 

Publication  Department,  National  Board  Young  Women's 
Christian  Associations, 

600  Lexington  Avenue,  New  York  City. 


STUDENT  LEAFLETS 
For  Universities  and  Large  Colleges 
Advisory  Committee.  Bertha  Conde.  10  cents. 

Association  Membership  and  Church  Work.  Bertha  Conde. 
10  cents. 

Association  Meetings.  Oolooah  Burner.  10  cents. 
Association  News  Committee.  Edith  Dabb.  6  cents. 

Bible  Study  Committee  and  the  Voluntary  Study  Plan. 
Ethel  Cutler.  10  cents. 

Cabinet,  The.  Bertha  Conde.  5  cents. 

World  Fellowship  (for  the  Missionary  Committee).  Mar¬ 
garet  Burton.  10  cents. 

Conferences  and  Conventions  Committee.  Louise  Brooks. 

5  cents. 

Finance  Committee.  Blanche  Geary.  5  cents. 

How  to  Promote  Eight  Week  Clubs.  Mabel  Stone.  5  cents. 
How  to  Realize  Our  National  Association  Membership. 
Eliza  R.  Butler.  10  cents. 

For  Colleges,  Seminaries  and  Academies 
The  first  six  leaflets  listed  above,  and  “World  Fellowship,” 
“Conferences  and  Conventions  Committee,”  “How  to  Pro¬ 
mote  Eight  Week  Clubs,”  and  “How  to  Realize  Our  National 
Association  Membership,”  as  listed  above.  In  addition: 

Committee  Work  in  Small  Associations.  Eleanor  Rich¬ 
ardson.  5  cents. 

Finance  Committee  in  a  School  or  College  Association. 
Edith  Helmer.  10  cents. 

Social  Service  Committee.  Eliza  R.  Butler.  5  cents. 
Year's  Outline  for  Religious  Meetings.  Oolooah  Burner. 
10  cents. 

Note;  As  the  cost  of  each  of  these  lists  totals  $1.05,  a 
packet  of  each  will  be  sent  for  $1.00. 

Watch  The  Association  Monthly  for  announcement  of 
additional  leaflets  during  1916-17. 

Order- from 

Publication  Department 

National  Board  of  the  Young  Women’s  Christian  Associations 

600  LEXINGTON  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK 


